


Moon Leap 3

by dreamiflame



Category: Hey Diddle Diddle (Nursery Rhyme)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Astronauts, Gen, anthropomorphic animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-10-14 05:02:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10529478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamiflame/pseuds/dreamiflame
Summary: It's the eve of the greatest feat the animal kingdom has ever known - a cow will jump over the moon.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [karrenia_rune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/karrenia_rune/gifts).



> Thanks to Rosencrantz for the beta and summary suggestion.

Bessie LaVache stomped a nervous hoof and huffed out a breath. Outside, she could hear the excited crowd of spectators, come to see the crew of five astronauts off. She settled her helmet more firmly under her arm and nodded at Captain Biff “Bronco” Taurus when he glanced her way. She was ready.

Heff wasn’t. The poor thing looked green under his brown whiskers. “I can’t,” he moaned, not for the first time. Bessie flicked her tail and tried to keep from rolling her eyes, only mostly succeeding. “Why do we have to do this?”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Bronco soothed. “I’ve told you, Heff, you don’t have to come. Moon Leap 3 will be fine if you want to stay behind.”

Which was easy for Bronco to say, and for Bessie to think. But they both knew Maisie al Hathor, Heff’s matriarch of a mother, would never forgive her son for not following his destiny. Heff shivered all over, like flies had landed on every inch of exposed skin, and fell silent.

Daisy Von Homburg and Sukey Vaca looked at each other and sighed in unison. “You’ll be fine,” Daisy said.

“The ship is perfectly safe,” Sukey continued.

“This is the third mission, all the mistakes have been ironed out by now,” Daisy went on.

“You don’t even have to look out the windows if you don’t want to,” Bessie mouthed the words along with Sukey. Heff was brilliant, a true prodigy of a young cow, but his overbearing mother had left him dangerously high-strung. The girls usually had to talk him down like this at least twice a day.

Bessie wished he’d just relax about everything already. Chew some cud, breathe some air. It was liftoff day, and if Heff couldn’t get his act together, they were going to miss the pre launch concert by world renowned rock violinist Chatte Boote.

And if that happened, Bessie was going to kill Heff, prodigy, sweet young thing or no.

Heff was looking more himself as the girls continued their litany. He took a deep breath, reached for his helmet, and gave Bronco a nod. “Okay,” he said. Bronco nodded back, straightened to his full, imposing height, and shouldered open the doors.

The noise from the crowd was deafening. The crew of Moon Leap 3 made their way down the path cleared for them, smiling and waving and trying to look relaxed. Oh, no big deal, Bessie thought. Just going to go jump the moon. Normal, ordinary mission.

Normal, history making, epoch defining mission, that’s all.

Moon Leap 1 had crashed back into the ocean an hour after takeoff. Moon Leap 2 had made it all the way to the moon, but been unable to complete the landing. But now, Moon Leap 3 was going to finish what they had started and not only orbit the moon, but land on it.

A laughing dog with curly blond fur threw a bunch of clovers at them, and Bessie snagged a hoofful out of the air. Clover was her favorite treat, but it didn’t taste right once it had been freeze dried. 

“Thanks!” she called, and the dog laughed more. Bessie took a bite of her flowers and mentally shrugged. Dogs were weird.

The crowd cheered them the entire way to the private box that had been set up for their use during the concert. Bessie hung her helmet on the back of her chair, noting how the others followed her lead, and sat down. Still standing, Bronco raised his hooves for silence, and the crowd slowly settled to hear him speak.

“Thank you all for being here!” he said, and the crowd cheered. “I know everyone must be just as excited as I am for the concert, so I’ll keep it brief.” Clapping and whistles followed this statement. Bronco tossed his head. “This mission is a dream come true for myself, and the other members of the crew of Moon Leap 3. We’re so honored by your support, and we can’t wait to send you all back pictures from the moon!” Somewhere in the crowd, a donkey brayed, setting off a chain reaction of other animal calls.

Bronco finally had to grab a nearby bell and clang it wildly to get the crowd to settle down again. “Thank you all! But for now, let’s all hear it for Chatte Boote!”

The tall, gorgeous ginger tabby strutted out on the stage like he owned it, and Bessie suppressed a sigh. It was hopeless, her little crush, but his music spoke to her. Everytime she listened to him play, she felt like Chatte Boote had touched her soul.

Chatte Boote flourished his electric fiddle, nodded to the backing band, and began. It was her third favorite song, a rollicking tune called “Cutlery Chase”. Bessie tapped her hoof along with the music, and ate the rest of her clover as the crowd danced themselves into a frenzy.

An hour later, Chatte Boote had had four encores, played every song Bessie knew and four she’d never heard before, and the sun was starting to sink behind the horizon. Overhead, the moon was full and brightening as the sun faded.

Chatte Boote took the microphone up, and the crowd quieted to hear him.

“You’ve been an incredible audience,” he purred, and Bessie sighed simultaneously with Sukey and Daisy. Heff gave all three of them weird looks. “It’s been a wild night, and it’s not over yet. Please join me in cheering on the crew of Moon Leap 3, launching in less than an hour.”

The crowd somehow managed to scream even more loudly than it had before, and Bronco stood again, gesturing the others up. Bessie waved, trying to look brave and not as nervous as she felt. Heff was looking a touch green again, but he managed to wave as well, a wobbly smile on his face.

Bronco picked up his helmet, and the others followed suit. Bessie found herself second in line as they filed out of the private box, and headed for the space ship. The crowd was even more jovial, cheering and shouting and touching their backs and legs. The dog from before flung more clover, and Bessie smiled at him. He laughed.

Somehow they made it through the crowd, and onto the ship. Then it was time for last minute checks, and they all looked at each other, nodded and put on their helmets.

“T-minus twenty,” said the voice of mission control, and Bessie focused on her board, checking to make sure the readings were within proper levels and none of the warning lights were on. Time trickled on, and all of a sudden, it was time for the countdown to commence.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” said mission control, and Bessie felt a jolt at the rocket ignited. “We have liftoff! Godspeed and good luck, Moon Leap 3!”

“Thanks, mission control,” Bronco said.

Chatte Boote’s music suddenly filled their radio channel, and Bessie couldn’t help giving a happy low. It was her favorite song, “Hey Diddle Diddle”, and Chatte Botte played it beautifully. The boosters disengaged, the atmosphere thinned, and they were in space, on their way.

In front of them, the Moon, and all her mysteries. Behind them, home, and everything they already knew. Bessie took a deep breath of her air, settled into a nice good cud chew, and got ready for the future.


End file.
